TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., February 16, 2023 – The Cobra Experience Museum has named Hagerty CEO McKeel Hagerty as the recipient of its first Global Icon Award winner in recognition of his many contributions to the joys of motoring.

The Cobra Experience is a 25,000-square-foot museum in Martinez, California, showcasing original Cobras, Shelby Mustangs, Daytona Coupe, GT40, King Cobra, Sunbeam Tigers and a Lotus. Unique to the museum is a 40-seat surround sound theater featuring an HD film about the cars and the Ford and Shelby American story.

The award was presented as part of the museum’s recent day-long celebration of Carroll Shelby, the late racer, designer and entrepreneur known for his involvement with the Cobra and Mustang. Shelby would have been 100 this year.

“I’m deeply honored by this award, coming as it does from a museum that does so much to preserve and expand the legacy of these iconic cars and the people behind them, including the great Carroll Shelby, who was a role of model of mine as a young man,” said Hagerty. ”His leadership earned America its first international sports car world championship and toppled Ferrari at Le Mans. Best of all, he nurtured young people and gave everyone opportunities to succeed.”

As part of day’s events, Hagerty Driving Experience, one of Hagerty’s signature Impact programs, took over the parking lot of the museum to teach young drivers the art of operating cool, older cars with manual transmissions. Launched in 2011, Hagerty Driving Experience has taught more than 4,000 young people this skill.

“It’s always gratifying to see the smiles on their faces as they discover they really can drive a car with a manual transmission,” said Hagerty. “Hopefully, we inspired some of them to become Cobra owners someday.”

Under McKeel’s leadership, Hagerty become an automotive lifestyle provider of specialty vehicle insurance, expert car valuation data and insights, live and digital car auction services, immersive events and automotive entertainment, all aimed at the 69 million Americans who self-describe as car enthusiasts. Based in Michigan, Hagerty Inc. joined the New York Stock Exchange in 2021 as a publicly traded company under the ticker symbol HGTY.

McKeel is a lifelong fan of great cars and roads. At the age of 13, he and his father restored a 1967 Porsche 911S. McKeel owns it to this day, and it is the first car he drives each spring. Among his many recent motoring adventures, McKeel has driven his Porsche to the top of Pike’s Peak, a 1903 Knox in the famed London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, a McLaren 600LT through Tennessee’s treacherous Tail of the Dragon, and in many other tours and rallies. He also served for decades as a judge at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where he continues to serve in an honorary capacity.

About Hagerty, Inc. (NYSE: HGTY)

Based in Based in Traverse City, Michigan, Hagerty’s purpose is to save driving and car culture for future generations and its mission is to build a global business to fund that purpose. Hagerty is an automotive enthusiast brand offering integrated membership products and programs as well as a specialty insurance provider focused on the automotive enthusiast market. Hagerty is home to Hagerty Marketplace, Hagerty Drivers Club^®, Hagerty Drivers Club magazine, Hagerty Drivers Foundation, Hagerty DriveShare^™, Hagerty Valuation Tools^®, Hagerty Media, MotorsportReg, Hagerty Garage + Social^®, The Amelia, the Detroit Concours d’Elegance, the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance, the California Mille, Motorlux, RADwood, Broad Arrow Group and more. For more information on Hagerty please visit www.hagerty.com, or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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Media Contact:

Jeremy Malcolm | jlrmalcolm@hagerty.com